Marin Shakespeare Company performing holiday play

At 745 this morning, the curtain went up more than 37 years ago for the Marin Shakespeare Company. The cast and crew take part in six productions each year in this upcoming play. will be Marin Shakespeare's first holiday show. It's something you won't want to miss. It's an adaptation of the novel The Secret Garden, and the company describes it as warm and magical, featuring music and even some puppets. And joining us in the studio this morning, Jennifer LeBlanc, the director, along with two of the actors, Mackenzie Brain and Kabir Herman. Thank you both. Thank you, all three of you. Thank you. For being here this morning. Jennifer, let me start with you. I read the synopsis of the story. It seems very Chronicles of Narnia-y with this kind of magic, otherworldly, sad children trying to find some happiness. Right. Kind of talk to me about what it takes to put this show on. Oh, I'm so grateful to work with these very talented actors. We're exploring hope and curiosity and magic and taking this story that... It's so beloved and looking at it with a modern lens and following the curiosity where it leads us into a secret garden. All right, I'll start next with the actors here. There seems to be a lot of imagination in this. Obviously, you don't have the luxury of a movie where you've got all the graphics and the CGI and stuff. So how do you get the audience to be as imaginative as you are when you're on stage? You know what? I think it has to do a lot with all of the puppet work that we're doing. Our props designer, Rob Dario, has done a really beautiful job creating these puppets that are made from found objects. But you kind of see them as a magical version of the animals in Dickens' garden, in the Secret Garden. We have a robin. We have all these kinds of things. So it's us interacting with what, to us, are real animals. Kabir, give me the lowdown of what the show is about and the roles you two play. So the show follows a character. Character Mary Lennox, played by Mackenzie here, who, after the death of her parents, is transported to her uncle's manor, which is all shut up and very old, and she hears this crying sound as she hears tales of a secret shut-up garden, and she follows both trails, finding the garden and, you know, trying to find the source of the crying. Which is where my character comes in. Oh, very good. Okay. So is this supposed to take place in this kind of Christmas time? I feel like any theme of that movie. It's always cold. I always imagine a child dressed in a scarf and, like, kind of raggedy, like, big coats here. Is that the theme we should be looking forward to? It's Yorkshire. So it can be quite chilly. But I think the story goes from a very cold place to one that's bursting with life and flowers and beauty in a garden that comes to life with love and nurturing and with hope and curiosity. Give me an answer each. How long have you all been with the company? This is my first show with you. First show? Yeah. Mine too. First show? Yeah, it's been a blast. I've actually got a long history. I loved the company as an audience member when I was in high school, and then I was an intern in college, and then I came back to act in 2004, and this is my first time back coming to act. Wow, you really grew up with this thing. Yes, yes. So tell me how different this show, this is supposed to be the first show of the holiday season. This show is going to get us in the groove of it all the first Saturday after. After Thanksgiving, what should we expect out of this? I think you should expect to come with a story that you know and love, told from a new, modern perspective, and leave humming and joyful and hugging your family. Can you guys talk about what it's like to work with puppets on stage? It's really fun. At one point I get to be a squirrel and the puppet itself takes a little bit of time to get on and since it's like the puppets are created by found items that are previously on the stage, I put on a glove and I put on all sorts of little things and I get to... embody the puppet, which is really, really fun. Oh, that is fun. And are you both Bay Area kids? Are you guys from here? Yes, I go to Berkeley High School. Berkeley High School. And I go to DVC in Pleasant Hill. Wow, so you guys are commuting all the way up to San Rafael to make this happen. Tell me, what are your dreams, your goals? What does life look like down the line for you? Well, I'm looking forward to transferring to a four-year school pretty soon. Next semester will be my last semester at DVC, and then, you know, I'm seeing where the world takes me. Sure. Yeah. Me too. I'm kind of in the thick of it right now for college apps. Thank you. That's rough, but it's really great to be able to have such an enjoyable show that I'm working on at the same time to contribute to a lot of the positive elements of my life. Yeah, distract yourself from all those essays and applications. Well, guys, we're looking forward to the premiere of the show. It's coming up in just a little more than two weeks from now. The Secret Garden is at Marin Shakespeare Company's Downtown Theater. You'll find it on 4th Street in San Rafael. The play runs from November 27th through December 20th, so you've got some time to plan. Ticket information you can find at marineshakespeare.org. Mackenzie, Kabir, Jennifer, thank you all for being here this morning telling us about this fantastic show. I'm sure it's going to be a great time. Thank you. Thank you all. All right. Send it back over to Sal Castaneda in the Traffic Center.